Emigrant Direct Savings Account Now Yields 3.25%
It's now official: EmigrantDirect, the relatively new comer that stirred the online money market account arena in the last several months, raised the APY of its flagship American Dream Savings Account to 3.25%. I have most of my emergency fund parking at EmigrantDirect since early March (see PFBlog's earlier report), and needless to say, I am happy to see it demonstrated its resolve to defend its top position in today's super hot money market/saving account market.
Apparently, banks are competing for your money these days. Take a look at Bankrate.com's list of high-yield money market accounts, familiar names like ING Direct and VirtualBank, while both boasting a 2.60% yield, can barely make their way into the top 10. One can reasonaly expect with Fed continuing its rate-raising streak and long-term interest rates starting to climb, consumers can see better and better rates in the months ahead.
Of course, no one can be sure if EmigrantDirect can continue to be the top dog, so the best strategy may be to set up account with a few competitive ones and jump ship when necessary -- I myself have accounts with Emigrant, ING Direct, CapitalOne and VirtualBank, all in the top 10 list.
Sadi at Financial Freedom Trek brought to us the news that ING Direct went offensive by bidding up the APY of its flagship Orange Account to 3.00%. Read
Apparently, two savings account giants, ING Direct and VirtualBank, both feel their latest offering of 2.60% APY in money market accounts is not competitive enough. Today, ING Direct raised the yield to 2.80% in a bid to attract more, or at least sustain its existing ... Read
My dentist and I recently had an interesting conversation. He mentioned to me that dental recommendations can often depend on the age of the patent. For people having the same dental problems, he may recommend minor conservative procedures for one in his 60s, but at ... Read
I'll be always grateful to Bankrate.com for helping me fetch a great refinancing deal last year. Without Bankrate, there would be no way I could lock the bottom-low rate of 3.50% for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) -- I believe the rate only survived ... Read
First, I just wanted to say that I enjoy reading your blog.
Wanted to make you aware of my online bank which offers some really incredible rates. Presidential Bank is based in Maryland and offers 3.0% on CHECKING accounts. I've used this bank since January '04 and have had a very good experience with them. I originally found them on bankrate.com, although I'm not sure why they are no longer listed on that website.
Alon: Do you have a link to your bank that you could share with us?
I second that.
I've used the presidential bank for about 3 months and am happy with them. The only con is that you need to establish direct deposit from you paychek.
Web address is http://www.presidentialbank.com
Do you think it is worth it to move under $500 to Emigrant entirely from ING or split the money up a bit?
For $500 we are talking about $3 difference in interest a year based on the current APY difference. If I were you, I will not bother to move the money. Instead, I will focus on saving more.
Took a quick look at the site and the FAQ, didn't see any explanation of "variable" in their offer of a "variable 3.25% Annual Percentage Yield."
I use Presidential Bank checking as well, it's great. Free checks and no limit in transactions. They do have a direct deposit requirement, however.
Steve - the rate is variable, which means that they can change it, but it is also guaranteed to be at least 3.25% until the end of this year. So it's not just a bait-and-switch.
Jonathan
ING Direct is also a variable rate if I recall correctly. There is really no way for a savings account to not have a variable rate. They would lose money whenever the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates.
With these online banks, such as Presidential Bank and Emigrant Direct, where are their ATM locations? Because I go to my credit union’s ATM to withdraw cash and there is no service fee charged.
Has anyone had any experience with CorusBank? They also have outstanding rates on CD's and Money Market accounts.
Sorry for the double post, but quick question for mm: You mentioned you have account with several major banks. Do you keep just the minimum balances to keep the accounts active (the lower yielding ones) or do you spread the funds evenly across all accounts?
Right now, I am keeping minimal balances (<$100) in VirtualBank, ING Direct and CapitalOne each and part most of my money with EmigrantDirect. The invisible hand is apparently at play here :-)
I am a newbie to online banking. My #1 concern is secutity/identity theft. Can someone shed some light here?
Also ... how does one designate beneficiaries? Since accnts are indiv or Joint only.
Joint assets can be invaded by the other persons anti-law team!
Thanks,
Bill k.
Myra, you can keep your local credit union for ATM purpose, or you can use presidential bank card at an ATM that doesn't charge fees, such as at Wawa (east coast) or Washington Mutual bank (west coast), or request cash back at any supermarket when you do grocery.
I have been with presidential bank since early 2003, and every thing is great. Other fees are also lower than most other banks. Emigrant Direct is different. It's a saving account only and not perfectly liquid, as there is a delay when you need the money. Presidential's checking interest is the highest at all time. When ING was 2.10%, it's 2.75%. They spare all the advertisement money and give back to you. Its website can also be simply http://www.presidential.com
By the way, Penfed.org has 3 year CD with 5% APY. It has only 6-month early withdrawal penalty. If you can hold it for at least a couple of years, it'll beat anything else.
